An interesting breakfast this morning - it lasted well over an hour with my host and I using google translate to communicate. Her English was as good as my French so talking was a real hoot.
I went for my first long walk today from Lucon following the Lucon Canal through the Marais Poitevin. In roman time Lucon was a port on the coast. About 1000AD the sea withdrew making a wetland. This was considered of no value and given to various monastic orders who built canals that drained the land and allowed access. The Lucon Canal dates from 13th century, The combined actions of silt washing down the rivers in the area and tide washing in silt from the Loire and Gironde Rivers means that the land is still rising at the rate of 1m per century and the sea is receding at 2km per century. If this continues at the current rate in a millenia La Rochelle will no longer be on the sea. Geography lesson over; history lesson begins.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I of England's mother came from Nieul-sur-l'Autise - the site of a monastry I visited today and much of the 100 years war was fought in this region. Much of the area was destroyed and the French Wars of Religion between the Hugenots and the Catholics a century later finished off the job. In 1599 dutch settlers were brought in to complete the canal building - with them having the right to take half the land in return. This was unpopular with the local population who sabotaged the work. Louis XIII when he came to the throne took over funding of the canal construction and by the end of 17th century this was largely complete turning the wetlands into productive farm land drained by a number of canals. The canals are still maintained and the Marais Poitevin is very fertile producing a cereal and a fodder crop each year.
I walked about 17km taking 2hours 13 minutes going out and 1hour 40 minutes coming back - a lot of the difference was because I had already seen everything on the way out and so didn't stop as much. I'm a bit stiff and footsore. Also since about 4pm I have been slightly feverish - getting alternately hot and cold. The bird life in the Marais is much richer than what I have seen elsewhere but I found several dead birds that had been shot so the farmers are definitely reducing the population. Lots of swallows, little seed-eating birds, a pidgeon (not sure if it was feral), a couple of herons and several cuckoos.
I have a couple of photos that I need some help identifying. One is a small red and black striped insect. They are bigger that the ladybirds about the size of the nail on my little finger. The other is a water plant - at a distance I thought it was daffodils. It definitely isn't a lily but I'm wondering if it lent something to the three petalled fleur de lis.
In the afternoon I vistied the abbeys at Nieul-sur-l'Autise and Maillezais. Both are now maintained by the regional government. Nieul-sur-l'Autise is still largely intact are there are still monks there but they don't live in the abbey buildings any more. The church of St Vincent that the abbye is attached to is still a function parish church but I gather with government funding rather than the parish maintaining it. It was founded in 1068 but the current buildings are 17th century. There were rehearsals going on for a dramatic production that will take place daily during July and August in the cloisters - and lighting was being erected in the church for a musical festival starting in 3 weeks. Jane and Sonia and anyone reading this who is into special affects -the abbey at Nieuk-sur-L'Autise has some great stuff - trouble is big chunks aren't multilingual.
Maillezais is just a ruin. It had been built over 500 years prior to the 100 years war and included a large cathedral. It was the scene of several battles during the 100 years war. The abbey is still standing while damaged but only 1 wall remains of the cathedral. Unlike Nieul-sur-l'Autise, Maillezais was never occupied after the 100 years war.
I woke up on 9 May to the alarm without a clue to where I was or what I was doing. After the exercise yesterday I slept like a baby. I was going to post this blog this morning but the hotels internet expires passes at midnight and won't recognise I need a new one. Spent the time instead re-organising the 160 photos I've taken this trip. Some days have none. I like to view life directly not through a camera - but I think it would have been nice to take a few more sometimes.Good news is the cold has gone and I wasn't aching in the morning.
The hotel internet had gone on the blink overnight so I didn't post the blog. I'm finding the internet a real mixed blessing. It is great to be able to organise things for the next day in the evening - but I also get questions on stuff I'm trying not to think about. Then there is the curse of the work email which tells me every time I get a message so I turn data off at night.
First stop of the day was La Rochelle Aquarium which I really enjoyed. The sharks are babies compared to Kelly Tarlton but it is still world class. Just across the old harbour - now just used for mooring expensive yachts is - are a pair of toy museums Musee des Automates and Musee des Modeles Reduits. As I had spent nearly 2 hours in the aquarium even though I tried to be quick I only visited the models.
The trip south was done using the main highway to Marennes (where the bridge goes to Ile d'Oleron if you want to find it on a map) and then following the coast as far as Mortagne-sur-Gironde. The first part of the road through Foret de la Coubre was deserted so I thought this will take no time at all and had a 90 minute walk in the forest. The forest is on sand dunes and the west coast of France has the same erosion problems as the west coast of New Zealand. The forest is now mostly pine trees and I think planted rather than natural forest. There are fences around the paths on the main routes to the beach to stop people wandering into the sand dunes - which caused me a wee problem as i had come along a track following the coast and was confronted by this fence that could not be climbed (well not be me anyway) so I was forced inland.
About 15km further south I came to La Palmyre - the first of the holiday towns along the coast. The next 18km took an hour (I told Jane on skype just now it was further than that so obviously the traffic was even slower than I thought). Stopped at St Georges de Dionne for an ice cream. I had been thinking of doing that since La Palmyre but there was no parking anywhere near any of the towns or villages which were all thick with pedestrians. Yesterday was a public holiday in France ( end of WWII) and is school holidays for about 1/3rd of France including Loire so I guess a lot of people are taking a few days off and giving the kids a holiday - may explain why hotels have been so dear.
I did notice that hotels were a lot cheaper in Bordeaux and Bayonne than elsewhere in France. Mind you the place I'm at now clearly has the Wellington issue of business people staying all week and leaving at the weekend. The tariff Friday to Sunday is 55euros. Monday to Thursday are 89 euros.
Since Alisatair will be wanting to know I ate hardly anything yesterday - apples, bananas, cashew nuts and a couple of coissants made up lunch and dinner. Today I went to a boulangerie and got a quiche and a sweet pastry that became a picnic lunch in the forest. Dinner was a buffet. Different to what you would find in NZ. Other than coleslaw no pre-made salads just the makings and a choice of dressings. Beef was served rare. Deserts were pretty french in flavour - crepes with nutella, I would have liked lemon juice but I couldn't find any lemons on the buffet. There is also a thing with light fluffy egg white and gelatine floating in custard I've seen on several menus (and tried twice). Lots of very rich little pastries. I had the house red so no idea what is was. The waiter was Irish and chatty like many Irish people are.
I went for my first long walk today from Lucon following the Lucon Canal through the Marais Poitevin. In roman time Lucon was a port on the coast. About 1000AD the sea withdrew making a wetland. This was considered of no value and given to various monastic orders who built canals that drained the land and allowed access. The Lucon Canal dates from 13th century, The combined actions of silt washing down the rivers in the area and tide washing in silt from the Loire and Gironde Rivers means that the land is still rising at the rate of 1m per century and the sea is receding at 2km per century. If this continues at the current rate in a millenia La Rochelle will no longer be on the sea. Geography lesson over; history lesson begins.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard I of England's mother came from Nieul-sur-l'Autise - the site of a monastry I visited today and much of the 100 years war was fought in this region. Much of the area was destroyed and the French Wars of Religion between the Hugenots and the Catholics a century later finished off the job. In 1599 dutch settlers were brought in to complete the canal building - with them having the right to take half the land in return. This was unpopular with the local population who sabotaged the work. Louis XIII when he came to the throne took over funding of the canal construction and by the end of 17th century this was largely complete turning the wetlands into productive farm land drained by a number of canals. The canals are still maintained and the Marais Poitevin is very fertile producing a cereal and a fodder crop each year.
I walked about 17km taking 2hours 13 minutes going out and 1hour 40 minutes coming back - a lot of the difference was because I had already seen everything on the way out and so didn't stop as much. I'm a bit stiff and footsore. Also since about 4pm I have been slightly feverish - getting alternately hot and cold. The bird life in the Marais is much richer than what I have seen elsewhere but I found several dead birds that had been shot so the farmers are definitely reducing the population. Lots of swallows, little seed-eating birds, a pidgeon (not sure if it was feral), a couple of herons and several cuckoos.
I have a couple of photos that I need some help identifying. One is a small red and black striped insect. They are bigger that the ladybirds about the size of the nail on my little finger. The other is a water plant - at a distance I thought it was daffodils. It definitely isn't a lily but I'm wondering if it lent something to the three petalled fleur de lis.
In the afternoon I vistied the abbeys at Nieul-sur-l'Autise and Maillezais. Both are now maintained by the regional government. Nieul-sur-l'Autise is still largely intact are there are still monks there but they don't live in the abbey buildings any more. The church of St Vincent that the abbye is attached to is still a function parish church but I gather with government funding rather than the parish maintaining it. It was founded in 1068 but the current buildings are 17th century. There were rehearsals going on for a dramatic production that will take place daily during July and August in the cloisters - and lighting was being erected in the church for a musical festival starting in 3 weeks. Jane and Sonia and anyone reading this who is into special affects -the abbey at Nieuk-sur-L'Autise has some great stuff - trouble is big chunks aren't multilingual.
Maillezais is just a ruin. It had been built over 500 years prior to the 100 years war and included a large cathedral. It was the scene of several battles during the 100 years war. The abbey is still standing while damaged but only 1 wall remains of the cathedral. Unlike Nieul-sur-l'Autise, Maillezais was never occupied after the 100 years war.
I woke up on 9 May to the alarm without a clue to where I was or what I was doing. After the exercise yesterday I slept like a baby. I was going to post this blog this morning but the hotels internet expires passes at midnight and won't recognise I need a new one. Spent the time instead re-organising the 160 photos I've taken this trip. Some days have none. I like to view life directly not through a camera - but I think it would have been nice to take a few more sometimes.Good news is the cold has gone and I wasn't aching in the morning.
The hotel internet had gone on the blink overnight so I didn't post the blog. I'm finding the internet a real mixed blessing. It is great to be able to organise things for the next day in the evening - but I also get questions on stuff I'm trying not to think about. Then there is the curse of the work email which tells me every time I get a message so I turn data off at night.
First stop of the day was La Rochelle Aquarium which I really enjoyed. The sharks are babies compared to Kelly Tarlton but it is still world class. Just across the old harbour - now just used for mooring expensive yachts is - are a pair of toy museums Musee des Automates and Musee des Modeles Reduits. As I had spent nearly 2 hours in the aquarium even though I tried to be quick I only visited the models.
The trip south was done using the main highway to Marennes (where the bridge goes to Ile d'Oleron if you want to find it on a map) and then following the coast as far as Mortagne-sur-Gironde. The first part of the road through Foret de la Coubre was deserted so I thought this will take no time at all and had a 90 minute walk in the forest. The forest is on sand dunes and the west coast of France has the same erosion problems as the west coast of New Zealand. The forest is now mostly pine trees and I think planted rather than natural forest. There are fences around the paths on the main routes to the beach to stop people wandering into the sand dunes - which caused me a wee problem as i had come along a track following the coast and was confronted by this fence that could not be climbed (well not be me anyway) so I was forced inland.
About 15km further south I came to La Palmyre - the first of the holiday towns along the coast. The next 18km took an hour (I told Jane on skype just now it was further than that so obviously the traffic was even slower than I thought). Stopped at St Georges de Dionne for an ice cream. I had been thinking of doing that since La Palmyre but there was no parking anywhere near any of the towns or villages which were all thick with pedestrians. Yesterday was a public holiday in France ( end of WWII) and is school holidays for about 1/3rd of France including Loire so I guess a lot of people are taking a few days off and giving the kids a holiday - may explain why hotels have been so dear.
I did notice that hotels were a lot cheaper in Bordeaux and Bayonne than elsewhere in France. Mind you the place I'm at now clearly has the Wellington issue of business people staying all week and leaving at the weekend. The tariff Friday to Sunday is 55euros. Monday to Thursday are 89 euros.
Since Alisatair will be wanting to know I ate hardly anything yesterday - apples, bananas, cashew nuts and a couple of coissants made up lunch and dinner. Today I went to a boulangerie and got a quiche and a sweet pastry that became a picnic lunch in the forest. Dinner was a buffet. Different to what you would find in NZ. Other than coleslaw no pre-made salads just the makings and a choice of dressings. Beef was served rare. Deserts were pretty french in flavour - crepes with nutella, I would have liked lemon juice but I couldn't find any lemons on the buffet. There is also a thing with light fluffy egg white and gelatine floating in custard I've seen on several menus (and tried twice). Lots of very rich little pastries. I had the house red so no idea what is was. The waiter was Irish and chatty like many Irish people are.
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